Dead Trance
by Echoing Fantasy
Summary: Tsuna was just trying to finish his college courses before having to go back to Italy and take his spot as Vongola Decimo. Of course the Zombie Apocalypse would choose to happen on the last day of school. Crack.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This is a stupid little thing I came up with. In my personal headcanon, Tsuna takes up the mantel as leader of the Vongola after finishing college, during which time he is cut out from the mafia, without his Guardians or cameras or any kind of 'safety net' that would keep him safe if a bomber or something raided the school. He basically becomes a regular teenager until the end of college, and then his Guardians welcome him back and the insanity returns.

Title comes from what I was listening to at the time – _Moon Trance _by Lindsey Stirling.

* * *

_Dead Trance_

"All I wanted was one more year of normalcy. Just _one. _Is that really so much to ask for?" Tsuna asked the ceiling as he pressed his back harder against the doors that shook behind him. The guttural groans and feral snarls of the undead could be heard through the metal, making him grimace. Had he still been in Italy, he had no doubt this would not have happened. And if it had, this place would have been barricaded, and he would have had every one of his classmates there beside him, giving him weapons and helping him map a way out of the place regardless of current alliances. But as it was, he was in Spain not Italy, and his classmates were currently _outside _clawing at the doors in a ferocious fit of hunger.

He honestly couldn't say what had gone wrong. Yesterday everything had been fine, people milling about as usual, teachers talking and threatening students with that whole 'this final test is 80 percent of your grade' crap they liked to pull, and much more. It had all been normal, and Tsuna had loved it. But this morning he had shown up only to find bodies littering the campus grounds, blood streaking the walls and floors, organs strewn about here and there. It had been disgusting, but more than that Tsuna had seen that it hadn't been any sort of attack he was familiar with, which had been what saved him. It had put him on edge enough to sense when the first body began to move, writhing and flailing as it groaned and sobbed its grievances, staggering towards him to take a bite out of his supple flesh.

He had barricaded himself in the school and now stood pressed against the doors, trying to think of a way out of this situation. Assuming this... contamination had not gone beyond the campus, he would be fine once he got out of the school. But of course where things of this scale were concerned, simple was hardly the way to go. So he would assume the entire town was infected – now he needed to worry about not just making it off campus, but out of town without getting anyone else bitten or hurt.

The phone in his pocket suddenly buzzed, and Tsuna reached down to grab it, putting it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Stupid-Tsuna, where are you?"_

Oh thank god, it was Reborn. "The same place I've been since the beginning of this, Reborn. In the school, barricaded up in hopes my zombie classmates won't eat me. Honestly, where else would I be in the middle of the Apocalypse?"

Reborn made a 'tch' sound over the phone. _"So our source was correct. Listen, one of the fuckers over at the last Deadcon brought something he shouldn't have, and its infected the population. We're heading over there now, but its going to be a few hours. We need you to stay put and not get into any trouble. Can you do that, Tsuna?"_

The door behind him rattled and shook, and Tsuna hissed, pushing back. "One minute Reborn, these guys are getting _pushy._" He shoved back, digging his heels in until they finally stopped attemping to open the doors. "Phew, okay, I'm back. Yeah, I can stay here. There's just one problem, I'm literally right up against the door, keeping them out. Any chance of me getting to a different room and barricading myself there for a few hours?"

"_Give me a minute, we've got all their stats here." _Rapid clicking of a keyboard filled his ears for a few minutes before Reborn answered. _"Yeah, according to what I've got here, their muscles should have started to atrophy by now – if you're fast enough, you should be able to get down and stay out of sight. Keep in mind they can't open doors with handles, they can't climb trees or do anything that requires a huge amount of effort. But once they spot a target, they won't let it go until its dead. So find somewhere to stay out of sight, and you should be okay."_

"Sounds like something out of a B-horror game. Alright, there's some pretty big cupboards in the art room. I can hide in those until you guys get here. I can assume you're going to be the one leading this merry band of men through here?"

"_Of course. I'll get the schematics for the art room. Let me know if you have to move somewhere else – we might have to bomb the town, and I'd prefer to get you in and out as easy as possible."_

"Got it. I'll call you if anything new comes up. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run for my life from the living dead."

"_Run fast, Tsuna."_

"Trust me Reborn, _that _has never been a problem." And so saying, Tsuna tucked the phone away. He pressed his back firmly against the doors, listening intently as he tried to level out his breathing. He could hear the dead wandering around behind the door, not really pushing or trying to get inside. He had two floors to go through to get to the art room. _Okay, stay out of sight, you'll be fine. Deep breath, and... GO!_

With a burst of speed that would have made Reborn proud Tsuna tore through the hallway and around the corner, taking the stairs two at a time. He heard the door slam open as he reached the second floor and didn't bother to look behind him as he heard the voices of the dead behind him. Up the third floor he went, quickly diving into the art room, shutting and locking the door, pulling the shutters shut as well before getting up on the counter and opening the cupboards that were large enough to fit someone like him inside, shoving all the stuff out. The door he had just locked rattled and jerked as one of the dead slammed themselves into it.

Tsuna managed to get inside the cupboard and close the door just as the lock was broken and the door opened with an ominous creak. Putting a hand over his mouth, Tsuna went perfectly still, listening as bodies shuffled in, groans and cries filling the air. Before long it was sounding like an entire class full of the undead, the sounds more than enough to mask anything Tsuna might have done. Quietly, he rolled onto his side, lighting his Flame just in case, and waited for the squads to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **I never intended for this to be anything other than a short oneshot, but the Inspiration Fairy basically conked me over the head and told me to write more. So here, have a second chapter from Reborn's perspective. Also, forgot to mention in the last chapter that Tsuna's 21 in this story.

Chapter name and inspiration came from _Hollywood Undead – Dead Bite._

**Edit: **Took out the pairings in this chapter because after looking it over a second time, it seemed rather out of place. So no pairings.

* * *

_The Devil's Heroes_

Reborn knew there was a reason he hated the Deadcon; now he remembered why. Because it was full of crazies that were sure they had the best idea of the hour in their hands. And now one of those crazies had let their idea loose in the city where Tsuna was at, the very same city he had gone to with the express promise that there would be no mafia interference. He had left his gloves and pills behind, and was utterly defenseless. He had been that way for three solid years – it would have been four in a day.

A _day. _One single day had been all that stood between his stupid, stubborn student and graduation. Twenty-four hours would have had him on Nono's private plane heading back home, paper in hand and mission complete. The Sky would have been back where it belonged, and Nono could finally retire and leave the Vongola to Tsuna. Just. One. Day.

To say Reborn was **pissed **was the understatement of the century. He cocked the Colt Python in his left hand and hefted the shotgun he was holding in his right. They had stopped just long enough for Reborn to go down to his weapons vault in the manor and stock up. As it was right now, they were looking at a very pissed off, one-man-army that had every intention of storming the school and retrieving his lost ex-student.

He had changed his normal fedora and suit for a white shirt, black pants and no hat. A length of thick chains sat on his hips, a further weapon to be used if things got difficult. He had six fighting knives strapped beneath his clothes, one on each limb and then the last two strapped to his sides. His signature CZ75 was strapped to his right leg, along with a package of extra bullets should he need them. The small bag on his back held grenades of several sorts, including flash and smoke. The fact that the enemy relied on heavily on sight instead of scent or sound was a blessing – one he would take full advantage of.

The chopper flew over the school, and Reborn sneered as he watched the monsters start to trickle out of the school. Lifting the shotgun, the hitman took aim at one of their heads and fired. The bullet connected solidly, sending chunks of flesh out onto the grass. The thing collapsed, moaning pitifully, only to start screaming as seconds later its brothers piled on top of it, tearing at the bloody flesh in hunger. Before long there was nothing left of the once-carcass; even the bone had been eaten. As the chopper began to lower down, Reborn took aim at four more of the decaying bodies, two at each end of the quad, and let loose.

"Pathetic," he muttered as he stepped off the machine, calmly walking down the white pathway up to the front door, none of the zombies even stopping to look at him. He closed and locked the doors, taking a mental tally of how many he'd left outside. In about an hour or so Colonnello would come in with the napalm bombs, and that would be the end of this little adventure. Until then however, Reborn still had minus one student to find and a plus dozen zombies to kill.

As if his thoughts were a beacon to summon them, one of the creatures rounded the corner. Upon seeing Reborn standing at the entrance it screeched loudly, the sound echoing throughout the entire building. Before long the hitman could hear the steady shuffle of feet against the floor, all heading towards his current point. Grinning savagely, he let his temper go razor sharp and his killer intent leak freely. It gave the creatures pause, but not for more than a few ticks. Then they were all coming down at once, and Reborn laughed gayly as he lifted his guns up.

Oh yeah. This was going to be _fun._

Tsuna had been lying in the cabinet for about twenty-five minutes when the sound of a chopper overhead came. A few minutes after it began, a single loud shot pierced the air. Sitting up slightly, Tsuna listened intently as some of the bodies began to shuffle out the door, and groans filled the air. Then a scream came through, and Tsuna couldn't stop himself from jumping in surprise. Fortunately, the sound was loud enough to mask his mistake, and he remained undetected.

After that, there were four more shots, more screams, and then all the bodies left the room. Tsuna waited an extra five minutes before peeking out of the cabinet. From far away he could hear them groaning and crying out, and something else, something almost _familiar. _

The sound came again, and Tsuna finally recognized it as the firing of a CZ75, followed by a flare of killer intent so familiar it almost hurt. _Reborn must be here, then. I'd better go... oh wait. _Right. No gloves, no pills. He was a D.I.D. (Damsel in Distress) this time around it seemed. Frowning, he plopped down on one of the desks to patiently wait for his tutor to appear.

It didn't take long. Reborn was grinning ear to ear, covered in bits of gore and blood as he stepped into the room, tossing a now-broken-in-half shotgun aside. He nodded at his charge. "Tsunayoshi. How pleasant to see you again."

Tsuna tried and failed not to snort. "Yeah right. You're only saying that because you've been on a good hunt."

"Maybe." Then something in his gaze softened a bit, and he reached out to pet Tsuna's hair back. "You didn't do anything stupid, did you?"

"No, Reborn. I was a good boy and waited in the cupboard, just like I told you I would," the brunette told him patiently. He was fighting back a smile – over the years, he'd learned to tell when Reborn was concerned about him, even if he didn't say it. "Is Colonnello coming?"

"Ah, about fifteen minutes." Reborn cocked his head, eyes narrowing as the sounds of the remaining dead came down the hall. "How about shooting practice to pass the time?" He tossed Tsuna the Colt Python and pushed out the door. The dead had begun to congregate on the stairs, moving much slower than before – clearly Reborn's earlier attack had done quite a bit of damage even to those he hadn't laid flat. Pointing to the group, Reborn ordered, "Aim for the heads. It makes things easier."

Wordlessly Tsuna lifted the gun, taking a moment to get the group in their sights before firing. The recoil didn't even make him flinch, and he fired another shot, hitting his targets easily. Reborn couldn't help the swell of pride he felt as seeing his student's improvement. He had thought that four years away from any sort of gun would have weakened it, but apparently not.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly, the duo quiet for the most part, Reborn offering a tip or correcting Tsuna's aim every now and again when he missed once too often. At long last the sound of the chopper returned, and Tsuna handed the gun back to Reborn as they returned to the classroom, both exiting through the window. Reborn slammed it behind him, smirking when a zombie entered the room and spotted him, its pace quickening towards the glass. Unfortunately, by the time it got there Reborn was already well up the rope ladder Colonnello had unrolled, too far for the dead to follow.

The chopper pulled out of the town just as a trio of jet planes went in, napalm bombs attached. Tsuna stared with wide eyes as they bombed the town, sending up plumes of red, orange and even blue fire. "How many were infected?" he asked his tutor.

"Most of the town. This idiot here," Reborn kicked the back of Colonnello's head, "did a sweep in the area after he dropped me off and found the number. There were too many for us to do anything except bomb it." He cast a glare at Tsuna, who saw it for the apology it was. "Get over it, Dame-Tsuna."

"I'm not Dame anymore, Reborn." Tsuna smiled. Reborn made a scoffing noise at the back of his throat, but didn't correct the statement. There was another lull in the conversation, and then Colonnello spoke up.

"Hey, I just remembered kora, they found the guy who tossed the virus." He looked back at Reborn, who had sat upright in his seat, interested, "He's in Vongola custody now. He's really creepy, kora. Said he was 'bettering the world' and all that stuff."

"They usually believe they are," Reborn told him. "The last one we dealt with was certain that the infection he gave was the cure for cancer."

"What did it actually do?" Tsuna asked, curiosity overriding caution. Reborn's look quickly made him wish he hadn't asked.

"It made his victims rabid, like dogs. They foamed at the mouth, attacked people who were nearby – their bodies went into a sort of superheated overdrive. They lived very short, violent lives, and passed the infection on by sexual intercourse." He brushed a piece of dirt off his sleeve. "I don't think I need to explain how quickly the infection spread, once it was loose."

Tsuna forced his nausea down and shook his head. "So, what are we going to do about it?"

Reborn raised an eyebrow? _"We?" _He asked.

"Yes _we_. You know as well as I do that I'm supposed to be back in Italy tomorrow anyway. I'll pack tonight, we head over and get an early start." His amusement died. "But if I'm taking up the mantel, I need to hear your thoughts on this, Reborn. You know more about the Deadcon than I do, how long its been going on, how much of a threat it poses to us. I want to hear your opinion before I make any moves."

Colonnello spared a glance towards his opponent, and snickered as he caught a small glimpse of surprise that was quickly smothered by pride towards his student. It seemed Tsuna had been right – he wasn't Dame anymore. And Reborn seemed to enjoy that.

"We've got a few hours to go before we reach Italy; I've already had the movers pack up your stuff back home and take it to the mansion." Reborn pulled a suitcase next to him close and opened it, revealing the thick file he'd kept over the years concerning the Deadcon. "I suggest you start reading."

Tsuna looked amused, and a bit resigned. "I'll never beat you, will I Reborn?"

His tutor smirked. "I'm afraid not, stupid boy. I welcome any and all attempts however. Now start reading. Ask me any questions you have by the end of it, and we can smooth over the details later."


End file.
